Greenwich Rally To Support Sandy Hook Ride On Washington

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Greenwich Rally Flyer.

March 05, 2014|Jonathan Perloe, Greenwich Council Against Gun Violence, Statewide

The Greenwich Council Against Gun Violence is honored to welcome Team 26 for a public rally at Greenwich Town Hall, 101 Field Point Road on Saturday, March 8, 12:30 to 2 p.m. to honor victims of gun violence and call attention to the need for federal gun safety legislation.

Team 26 is named for the 26 cyclists who last March rode 400 miles from Sandy Hook to Washington, D.C. in memory of the 26 children and educators who were killed with an assault rifle at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Because no legislative action has been taken in Washington since the massacre, Team 26 is riding a second time. The Greenwich Council has formed its own Team Greenwich to ride alongside Team 26 from Ridgefield to Greenwich, demonstrating that the "Connecticut effect" is alive and well in Greenwich.

"In 2013 Connecticut passed tough common-sense gun regulations to make our communities safer. Now it's time for Washington to do the same," says Jonathan Perloe, a leader of the Greenwich Council. "The rally will allow residents to show their steadfast support for legislative measures that reduce gun violence. It will also publicly demonstrate that Greenwich supports legislators who advocate for stronger gun regulation."

"CT has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, but we can't protect ourselves from gun violence when weak federal laws let guns flow into our state from elsewhere," notes Dina Klein Lunder, one of the rally organizers.

Upon arrival of the cyclists at Town Hall, a press conference will be held with local, state and federal officials to talk about the epidemic of gun violence in America, including 44 school shootings in the 14 months since Sandy Hook. Elected officials scheduled to speak include Senator Richard Blumenthal, Congressman Jim Himes, CT Attorney General George Jepsen, Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei and Selectman Drew Marzullo. They will talk of the urgent need for gun safety reforms to reduce firearm deaths in our schools, workplaces, shopping and entertainment venues, and the streets of our urban and suburban communities.

Also present at the rally will be Ron Pinciaro, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence, who says "Legislators keep hearing from gun-rights activists. It's vitally important they see more of us than of the vocal and well-funded NRA supporters who oppose sensible gun safety reform."

"After the Sandy Hook shooting I knew I had to do something to make a difference," says Liz Perry, founder of the Greenwich Council Against Gun Violence, "so I invited a group of like-minded people into my living room. It's been simply amazing the level of support we've mobilized in Greenwich over the past year. To honor the one-year anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, we sent 1,000 handwritten Newtown Action Alliance holiday cards to members of Congress asking them to pass universal background checks. We're not going away until they act".